TMC claims SIR voter deletions altered Bengal poll results (Img: Internet)
New Delhi: The All India Trinamool Congress on Monday told the Supreme Court that large-scale deletion of voter names during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal may have significantly affected the outcome of the Assembly elections.
Appearing for the party, senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee argued that the scale of voter deletions was substantial enough to alter results in several constituencies across the state.
During the hearing, Banerjee informed the bench that in at least 31 Assembly constituencies, the margin of victory was lower than the number of voters removed during the revision exercise.
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He cited one constituency where a TMC candidate lost by only 862 votes while more than 5,000 names were allegedly deleted from the electoral rolls.
According to the TMC, the overall vote difference between the BJP and the party in the state stood at nearly 32 lakh votes, while more than 35 lakh appeals against voter deletions are still awaiting disposal. The party argued that the pending appeals and deletion figures raised serious concerns about the fairness and impact of the revision process.
The matter was heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The bench observed that if the number of deleted voters exceeded the margin of defeat in certain constituencies, affected parties could move an appropriate application before the court.
The observation is being seen as significant because the court had earlier indicated that cases involving disputed voter deletions and narrow electoral margins may require closer judicial examination.
Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the petitioners, also flagged concerns over delays in the appellate process dealing with voter deletion disputes.
She told the court that at the current pace, tribunals handling such appeals could take nearly four years to clear the backlog. The bench noted that the existing mechanism for handling electoral roll appeals may need procedural improvements to ensure faster resolution.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India maintained that the legal framework on the issue was clear and said election-related disputes should be addressed through election petitions.
